Patuxent Music has two new releases to announce this month, both of them challenging my perception of the label.

Over the past few months, their new projects had featured some of the most promising young bluegrass and old time artists in the eastern US, much of it in the progressive vein. We were especially impressed by recordings from Jordan Tice, Nate Leath and Patrick McAvinue, and Patuxent has since released new music from Angelica Grim and The Doerfels, young performers all.

For the Spring of ‘09, they have new albums from pioneers and trendsetters who have been leaving a mark on our music for more years than the aforementioned youngsters have been alive.

Ownself Blues has mandolin master Frank Wakefield showing why he has been long considered one of the finest interpreters of the Monroe style since Big Mon himself. There is much of the Father in Frank’s playing here, as well as in the songs he has composed, which make up the majority of the 13 tracks.

The backing band is superb. Michael Cleveland is on fiddle, the sadly unheralded Mike Munford is on banjo, with Audie Blaylock and Jordan Tice on guitar and Darrell Muller on bass. Taylor Baker adds a second mandolin on 5 cuts, and Jessie Baker gets a guest banjo solo on one.

Frank also includes 3 pieces of classical music, which intersect interestingly with his unique, hard-edged style. He has arranged Beethoven’s Theme and Variations in D and Bach’s Bour?©e, and written one of his own, Mandolin Solo #2.

Audio samples are available in iTunes.

Among the family names held in high esteem in bluegrass circles, not many rank higher than Stoneman. Throughout the late 1950s and the ’60s, their regular television and radio appearances brought traditional country and bluegrass music to listeners all over the United States.

Ernest “Pop” Stoneman fronted the group, along with his wife Hattie and many of their children. Each was talented in their own right, but fiddler Scott Stoneman especially caught the attention of serious students of the emerging bluegrass style. His sister Roni became familiar to a wide audience from her many years on the Hee Haw television show.

Of the 23 Stoneman siblings, only three remain, and they have made a new recording named for the surviving sisters. Patsy, Donna & Roni reunites one of many offshoots of the Stoneman franchise who performed together in the 1960s for a set of family favorites and new original compositions.

Patsy plays autoharp, Donna mandolin and Roni banjo, with all three contributing vocals. Nate Grower is on fiddle, Jeremy Stephens is on guitar and Stu Geisbert bass.

Ernest V. Stoneman’s contributions to the musical heritage of 20th century America cannot be ignored. He was among the first rural performers to record and release his music. He practically defined the “three chords and the truth” approach to songwriting. He formed a unified whole out of the disparate world views of modern society and the mountain traditions of Southwestern Virginia.

Next month (September 23, 2008) will see the release of a two-disc compilation of his works, titled The Unsung Father Of Country Music, 1925-1934. Included with the disc is a 44 page booklet containing an introduction by Patsy Stoneman, along with many historical images.

The release party for this CD set is a planned two-day affair to be held in Galax, VA September 5-6. The event will include live concerts, presentations, and advance sales of the product. On September 5 there will be a series of performances, by local and regional artists, presented at the Rex Theater in Galax. September 6 will see a presentation by Henry Sapoznik, co-producer of the box set, taking place at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, VA, followed by a performance by Roni, Patsy & Donna Stoneman. This event is free, and open to the public.

Many of Virginia’s leading political figures have invited, including Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA), Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA, 9th Dist.), Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and Senator John Warner (R-VA). If they all choose to attend, this is sure to be a high profile event honoring the music of one of America’s historical treasures, Ernest V. Stoneman.

2008 also marks Stoneman’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A well deserved honor.

The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville has just announced the list of this year’s inductees, all of whom have a bluegrass connection.

The honorees are selected annually in three chronological career categories: pre WWII, WWII to 1975, and 1975-present.

Ernest V. (Pop) Stoneman will be honored in the first (pre WWII) category. He was the patriarch of the Stoneman Family, one of the most prolific and infuential of the early country recording artists. One of his sons, Scotty Stoneman, is claimed as a primary influence by successive generations of bluegrass and old time fiddlers.

The next category (WWII to 1975) produced a tie. Both Tom T. Hall and The Statler Brothers will share this year’s honor. The Statlers have not done much bluegrass – though they belong in every hall of fame for giving us Roadhog Moran & his Cadillac Cowboys – but many of their songs have found their way into the bluegrass Gospel repertoire.

Tom T. Hall, of course, has dedicated his recent career to writing, recording and promoting bluegrass music, and with his wife Dixie, has left a legacy to the music in the form of a bequest to the IBMA upon their passing.

In the modern (1975-present) category, Emmylou Harris, gets the nod. Though she is more generally regarded as a country artist, her contributions to bluegrass are legion, from performing/recording with Seldom Scene to having hired, performed with and promoted the careers of artists like Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Sam Bush.

Congratulations to this year’s inductees!

HT: Jon Weisberger